Intel has introduced at the NAB conference an improved version of its Thunderbolt interface, doubling the transfer speeds to 20 Gbps upstream and downstream. CNet reports that Intel has announced the next generation of Thunderbolt, promising throughput of 20 Gbps in each direction -- twice as fast as the current protocol, allowing simultaneous 4K video file transfer and display. The existing version only runs at 10 Gbps (which is still faster than the 5 Gbps of its more ubiquitous competitor, USB 3.0).

The new generation of Thunderbolt, code-named 'Falcon Ridge', will be backwards compatible with current-generation cables and connectors. Intel expects production to ramp up in 2014.

Intel is set to begin production of the new Thunderbolt interface in 2014, and it will also be backward-compatible with existing Thunderbolt cables and devices.